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Friday, 6 January 2017

Understanding Pakistan: Episode 1

"Understanding Pakistan".
Episode 1 In the beginning
Presented by Aamer Raza and takhalus

Source notes

Art work by Dr. Ghulam Shabbier.
Special hat tip to Ahmer Naqvi at Patari for inspiring this exclusive podcast series.
The original concept was for a single person monologue, looking at Pakistani history in a chronological format starting from 1947, , thankfully that approach was discarded for more of a dialogue approach with Aamer joining the project.
As someone aware of the critical eye that social media casts, i also wanted to clearly define the parameters the show would operate under. Conceptually that meant defining what the show was not as well as what it was.

From a technical point of Aamer was the key to resolving our initial technical issues. We also struggled with the title of the show from my tongue in cheek title "@takhalus studies Pakistan" to "Problematizing Pakistan". Another issue was introductory music. That last one is something we are struggling with, if anybody has any suggestions do drop us a line.

Corrections/Amendments/ Clarifications

-Writer Abdul Majeed Abid has contacted us to say "Disagree slightly with your co-host. I wrote a chapter last year on the issue of Kalat's Accession based on available documents. What happened on 11th August was a stand still agreement. The words of that agreement were dubious and it was not signed by Mountbatten at the time. Kalat did hold elections (no voting though) and the two chambers of the Kalat state assembly were merely a rubberstamp (according to Kalat's own constitution)."

- Clarification: There was no intention to minimise the impact of partition on Bengal. There was violence and displacement but the impact on Punjab was the most severe. See Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unravelling the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British Reports and First-Person Accounts (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2012; New Delhi: Rupa Books, 2011).

FAQ

Will you be examining famous events differently or looking at untold stories in Pakistani history?

I am tempted to say the latter but I suspect the truth is a bit of both.

Who is your target audience?

I would like to think it is open to anyone with a interest in Pakistani history. The truth is some people who feel strongly emotionally invested in some of these issues will probably best avoid the podcast.

Will you be taking Questions?
Yes, tag us on twitter or use the #UnderstandingPakistan or e mail qkhwani dot gmail.com

Will you be having guests?
Yes, ideally we would like to host academics to discuss events and themes.

How long will the series be?
Originally we planned for seven episodes but that depends on the audience response.